The New Kids in the Squad Room
by Kelly of the midnight dawn
Summary: Elliot and Olivia have left SVU and gotten married. How will their replacements fair? Please R&R. STORY DISONTINEUD
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Elliot and Olivia have left SVU and gotten married. Two new detectives have been brought in and life continues.

Sophia Parker is 28 and she has been a detective for a year and a half before she transferred to SVU. Before that she was in robbery at the 1-9. She has green eyes and wavy light brown hair with red highlights. As a child, Sophia witnessed her mother murdering her baby brother. She has an older sister Pam who took care of her after her mother was put in jail. Her sister is 37 and married to Alexander Meredith and they have a 6 year old son Michael.

Jeffrey Doyle is a 33 year old detective who transferred from Bronx homicide. He was married but has been divorced for two years. His ex-wife was a drug addict and abusive towards Jeffrey and their two children. Jeffrey has full custody of his 9 year old son Patrick and 4 year old daughter Amy.

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Sophia Parker walked into the new squad room. It was her first day in SVU and she wasn't off to the best start. She was fifteen minutes late but she had a good excuse. At least she hoped she did.

She hurriedly made her way towards what she suspect was the Captains office. She crashed through the door rather unceremoniously and came face to face with Captain Donald Cragen.

"Sorry Sir… Hello Sir…" she stuttered. 'Oh crap' she thought 'great job Parker, you just blew it. Now he thinks you're a complete idiot,'

"You must be Detective Parker," Cragen said. It wasn't a question, it was more of a statement but the way that he said it put Sophia at ease.

'Maybe you haven't completely blown it' she allowed herself to think.

"Yes Sir," she said in a more calm and steady voice then before.

"You're late detective," Cragen stated.

"Yes Sir," she replied. Even though she was sure she was about to be reprimanded, her voice still held it's calmness "I missed the bus," she explained.

"It isn't exactly a good first impression to be late on your first day," Cragen said in a non-threatening voice.

"I know Sir, I'm sorry Sir. I take full responsibility for my actions," she responded.

Cragen smiled "That's fine detective. Don't feel too bad, your new partner isn't here yet and I suspect that he will be significantly later then you."

Sophia sighed. Her new Captain seemed to be quite interesting to say the least "My new partner?" she asked, she new absolutely nothing about her new partner except that she would be getting one.

"Yes," Cragen said "Detective Jeffrey Doyle. He called earlier to say that his daughter was sick and he had to find a baby sitter on short notice and that he might not be in until the afternoon."

Sophia must have had a confused expression on her face because Cragen asked her "How much do you know about your new partner."

"Not a whole lot Sir," she responded honestly "I just knew that I would be getting one."

Cragen scratched his head "Hmm, you would think that people would communicate in this business," he mumbled "So your old C.O. gave you no info about your new partner? Not even his name?"

Sophia shook her head "Sir. If you don't mind, I'd like to get to work. Could you please tell me witch desk is mine?"

Cragen nodded and pointed to the desk that had once been occupied by Olivia Benson "Your predecessor left plenty of paperwork to be done," he said "You can learn while you wait for your partner."

Confused as to what the Captain meant by "learn" Sophia turned and left the office.

As he watched her go, Donald Cragen couldn't help thinking how different than Olivia this new detective seemed to be. Olivia wasn't late on her first day and those times that she was late, Olivia had been defiant, not apologetic, if Olivia had missed the bus, she would say that the dam bus was on time for once and dam New York City. Cragen wondered how this submissive wisp of a detective was ever going to make it in SVU. He hoped that maybe her partner would turn out to be more promising.

Sophia sat down at her new desk and stared at the grain of the wood. She heard two other detectives talking but she didn't look up or make any effort to join the conversation.

"So," one of them was saying "did you see Elliot and Olivia this weekend?"

"Yeah," the other one responded "nice new house and all. They seem happy."

"I hope it lasts," said the first one "hopefully Elliot has better luck than I do with wives."

"Everyone has better luck than you," the second one quipped.

"It's gonna be weird not having them around," the first one stated.

Sophia dared to glance up at the other two detectives at that moment. She saw that the first one was a tall skinny older looking man with smoky glasses. The second one was a black man with a pony tale. She had no idea what they were talking about and she quickly looked back down at the desk to avoid making eye contact.

"Yeah it is," the one with the pony tale was lamenting "but at least they'te happy."

"Them, who cares about them," the one with the glasses said in a sarcastic tone "They're happy but we get stuck with two green detectives who we have to break in. How can they do this to us."

Sophia wanted to shrink into her chair and become invisible. She hadn't remembered feeling this self conscious and unsure about anything since high school. She was wondering if this was such a good idea to have transferred. She was happy in robbery, she had a great partner, she had great colleagues, she was the rising star of the squad and now it was back to being the little fish in the enormous ocean.

She started randomly pulling open the drawers of the desk, searching for something to keep her mind busy. The drawers were mostly empty but in the bottom drawer she found an envelope.

She took it out and examined it. It was open and there was a letter inside. Her curiosity overcame her and she removed it from the envelope. It was addressed to her and she began to read it.

Dear Detective Sophia Parker,

I've heard you'd be getting my old desk so I told the Captain that I would be leaving you a letter. I am the one who sat here for eight years before you came along and you will probably have a hard time for a while because of that. These people knew me and worked with me and now they will need to learn how to work with you.

They will probably compare your actions to mine for a long time. Please don't let it discourage you. I have known these people long enough to tell you that they are good people and they will give you a fair chance, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.

I have just a few things to warn you about and. Be ware of the conspiracy theories of one Detective John Munch. (tell him I said that) Also, bring your own coffee to work (you'll thank me for this suggestion, trust me)

Oh and one last thing that my partner, oops I mean my husband wants me to tell you. He says "Tell her not to fall in love with her partner. That only leads to trouble"

He's such a goof. Anyway if you do fall in love with your partner, my advice is to not keep those feelings inside. You don't know how much you could be missing.

Sincerely,

Detective Olivia Benson

Sophia smiled as she refolded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. She carefully put the envelope securely in the top drawer of the desk.

She rose and made her way towards the other two detectives who were still deep in conversation. She approached the skinny one and extended her hand.

"Hello. I'm Detective Sophia Parker. Pleased to meet you detectives," she said as she grinned broadly.

TBC

A/N: Please tell me what you think. Next chapter we'll get to meet Jeffrey Doyle.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: What is it with me? I can never remember to put these things in the first chapter. Anyway… I am only claming ownership of Sophia and Jeffrey and their families. The other characters are Dick Wolf's

A/N: I've been getting a lot of hits but not a lot of reviews. My ego is starving.

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 2

Jeffrey Doyle stepped through the double doors into the SVU squad room. It was 11:30 in the morning. He was three and a half hours late for work on his first day. He had called every baby sitter he could think of until he had finally found one who could watch Amy on such short notice. He had called Captain Cragen every 15 minutes to tell him that he was so very sorry but he hadn't found a baby sitter yet. The Captain had reassured him that it was alright, that he should take care of his daughter. In spite of that, Jeffrey was very apprehensive about everything that day.

He would be meeting a new partner, a woman. He had never worked with a woman partner before. He was expecting to be dealing with some fragile weepy thing that would need hand holding every step of the way, especially when dealing with rape victims, witch was of course what this job was about.

He scanned the squad room for any sign of his new partner. She wasn't hard to find, she was the only woman in the entire place. She sat at a desk, trying to wave away a Styrofoam cup of what Jeffrey suspected must be coffee, that was being offered to her by a skinny man with glasses.

"No, no, no," she was saying "I was warned about this."

"Come on," the man was saying "just try it."

"No!" she said forcefully as she turned her head away.

Her gaze landed on Jeffrey. Jeffrey decided to say something before the silence became awkward.

"Hello," he began "My name is Jeffrey Doyle. You must be my new partner. Nice to meet you," he extended his hand towards her.

"Nice to meet you too," she said simply "This," she said, indicating the man with the coffee "is Detective John Munch," she stood from her desk and began to make her way towards the rest room "Why don't you two get to know each other."

"Nice to meet you Detective Doyle," Munch said, extending his free hand "would you like some coffee.

Jeffrey didn't know what to say. He wanted to make a good first impression but there must have been some reason that his new partner, who had managed to get away without telling him her name, had refused the coffee. He decided to take it and deal with the consequences later.

"Thanks," he said as he took the cup. He quickly downed the contents and smiled at the other detective.

"Glad some one around here appreciates my hard work," Munch smiled at Jeffrey and turned to go back to his desk. Jeffrey made his way towards the Captain's office.

"Hello," Cragen greeted Jeffrey, when he saw him approaching the office door.

"Hello Sir," Jeffrey managed.

"Come in and take a seat," Cragen offered.

Jeffrey nervously entered the office and took a seat across the desk from the Captain.

"How is your daughter doing?" Cragen asked, with genuine concern.

"She's fine," Jeffrey answered. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, "I found some one who was available until my regular babysitter gets out of school at 2:30. I promise that this won't happen again Sir,"

Cragen looked at the tall man shifting uncomfortably under the gaze of his new C.O. He was reminded of his first impression of Sophia earlier that morning.

"Its okay Detective Doyle," Cragen reassured, "I understand that you have family responsibilities. Believe me, you aren't the first."

Jeffrey seemed to calm down after hearing that and Cragen himself felt more at ease.

Sophia knocked on the door of the Captain's office and poked her head in.

"Excuse me Sir," she began.

"Oh Detective Parker come in," Cragen said cheerfully.

Sophia entered the office and noticed Jeffrey sitting in one of the chairs. Without being asked, she took a seat in the chair next to him.

Cragen looked at his two new detectives sitting across from him, side by side. It reminded him of how Elliot and Olivia sat beside each other every time that he would call them into his office because they had done something that had gotten IAB on their backs or some such thing.

"Well," Cragen began "Detective Doyle, this is Sophia Parker. She is your new partner,"

Jeffrey turned in his chair to face Sophia. He extended his hand towards her.

"Nice to know your name," he said, referring to their earlier incounter.

Sophia studied his face carefully. He had short, black, curly hair and seemingly flat expressionless grey eyes. She remembered Olivia's letter and she knew that she could definitely avoid falling in love with this partner.

"A pleasure," she finally answered. She figured that this was the only thing that she could say.

Cragen's phone rang and he answered it.

"Cragen, Special Victim… Yes… Aha… Aha… Oh my God… You're kidding… They'll be right there…" he slammed the phone down.

Both Jeffrey and Sophia noticed the drastic change in their new Captain's mood and it made both of them wonder what sort of awful message had just been relayed to him during that brief phone call to cause such an experienced cop's mood to do such a total 180.

Cragen was scribbling an address on a piece of paper. He handed the paper to Sophia.

"Go to this address," he told both of them "The officers on the scene will give you more info when you get there."

He quickly dismissed the two detectives and once they were out of the office, he put his head in his hands and let the teers fall freely. This was horrible. He wished he could put Munch and Fin on this case but it was just to personal for them. This case needed the objectivity that after eight years, neither Munch nor Fin could possibly posses.

Sophia quickly memorized the address on the piece of paper and dropped it on her desk as she grabbed her coat.

"Where are you two off to?" Munch asked, in a suggestive tone.

"We got a case," Jeffrey said excitedly as he too finished putting on his coat and followed Sophia out the door.

"They got a case already?" Fin asked.

"Guess so," Munch said, as he picked up the piece of paper from Sophia's desk and began reading the address. He froze and Fin came up behind him and read over his shoulder.

"Isn't that…?" Fin asked.

"Sure is," Munch managed to choke out.

"Why did Cap put them on this?" Fin asked angrily "We should be working this one!" he slammed his hand down hard on what was now Sophia's desk.

"I don't know," Munch said, still finding it hard to speak "Lets go ask him."

The two detectives turned and entered the Captain's office, leaving the piece of paper witch had so drastically changed their moods to flutter back onto the desk witch was once occupied by Olivia.

TBC

Oh I'm evil. Review if you want more.


	3. Chapter 3

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 3

Disclaimer: I have to keep bringing myself back to reality by telling myself that I only own Sophia and Jeffrey. All the other wonderful characters are Dick Wolf's and I will never own them. No matter how much I wish I did.

Sophia drove to the crime scene. Her partner sat in the passenger seat, nervously fingering the buttons of his coat. She noticed this out of the corner of her eye and the absurdity of this man, a hardened cop should not only feel unnerved by his first case in sex crimes, which they still had no idea what it was but that he would express his nervousness in this manner.

She tried to put it out of her mind as she kept her eyes on the road as she drove to the address that she had memorized from that piece of paper. She wondered why the captain had become so upset so suddenly. There was only one explanation for the change in demeanor. This case that she and her fellow rookie SVU detective were on their way to, was a scene that somehow involved their predecessors and the captain felt that the other two detectives would be too emotionally involved. Sophia hadn't gotten to be a detective by being stupid and naïve. She was afraid to find out what sort of horrific thing could have befallen two NYPD detectives.

"What do you think happened to them?" Jeffrey broke his silence.

"To who?" Sophia inquired. His question had shocked her.

"Benson and Stabler," he clarified "what do you think happened to them?" Apparently Jeffrey hadn't gotten to where he was by being stupid either.

"I don't know," she answered simply "but it's our job to find out."

In Cragen's office, Munch and Fin stood in front of the captain's desk. Munch was screaming and his hands which once again contained the offending piece of paper on which was written Elliot and Olivia's address, were shaking uncontrollably.

"When were you going to get around to telling us?" Munch screamed "On the one month anniversary of their funerals?"

Cragen stared at his detectives and found himself at a loss for words.

"Why did you send those two out there? This is trial by fire for them? This should be our case?" Munch continued.

Cragen finally managed to find his voice and although it was tiny and full of emotion he managed to croak out "I'm sorry," he again put his head in his hands and tried to fight back the tears. This was not behavior appropriate of a captain in the NYPD. He knew that but he just couldn't help himself. He began to cry.

When he looked up he saw that both Munch and Fin had tears in their eyes and running down the sides of their faces.

"I was going to tell you," Cragen offered meekly as explanation.

"We know," Munch and Fin said in soft, understanding, even tones. They both sank into the chairs across from Cragen.

"I had to send them," Cragen began again "They will be objective in this. They won't be quick to jump to the wrong conclusion based on emotion like we might."

The two detectives nodded their understanding. Then Munch asked the question that they were both afraid to know the answer to "What happened."

Sophia pulled up in front of the house. If it hadn't been for the armada of squad cars and the ambulance with its flashing lights reflected in its windows, the house would have seemed completely normal, pristine and beautiful.

She got out of the car and slammed the door hard, Jeffrey did the same and the two of them approached the uniformed officer who seemed to be in charge.

"Hello," Sophia greeted "I'm Detective Parker, SVU."

The officer nodded his head in understanding and shook her hand "I'm Officer Simons," he said.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Sophia asked.

"We received a 911 call from this location around 11:30am," Simons launched full force into his explanation.

"What did they say?" Jeffrey asked.

Simons turned to Jeffrey in confusion "Who are you?' he asked, seeming to have only now just noticed him.

"I'm Detective Doyle," Jeffrey said, sounding a bit agitated "I'm Detective Parker's partner."

Again Simons nodded, then he turned back to Sophia "No one got a chance to say anything on the call. We heard gun shots in the background and the line went dead. Luckily the call was long enough that we were able to get an address. My C.O recognized the address and called you guys."

"What did you find when you arrived on scene?" Sophia asked, growing impatient with this Simons guy. She wanted to know the facts of the case and get to solving it quickly.

"Husband was shot in the shoulder. He's on his way to Saint Elizabeth's now,"

'The husband' Sophia thought 'that's Stabler'

"What about the wife?" Jeffrey ventured to ask.

Simons again ignored him and continued speaking to Sophia.

"No sign of the wife," Simons answered simply.

A pang of sorrow shot through Sophia as she pictured the woman who had left her that kind letter, being forced to leave her bleeding husband by some jerk with a gun. Her detective instincts took over and she took command.

"Doyle," she said, turning to face Jeffrey "Canvas the neighborhood. See if anyone heard or saw anything," then turning to Simons "Have the EMT's left yet?"

"No," answered Simons "they're right over there," he pointed to an ambulance that was behind Sophia.

"Thank you," she said quickly and spun around, rushing towards the ambulance.

An EMT greeted her as she approached the stretcher where Elliot Stabler lay.

"Is he gonna make it?" she asked, with genuine concern.

"Yeah," another EMT reassured her "we're just about to take him to the hospital."

"I'll ride," Sophia said simply, as she climbed into the back of the ambulance after the stretcher.

At the hospital, Sophia stood in the ER waiting room. She leaned nervously against a wall and waited for the Captain to arrive.

She had called Cragen as soon as they had reached the hospital. Elliot was still in surgery but the doctors had told her that it looked like he would pull through.

She felt a lump in the pit of her stomach as she remembered the two things that Elliot Stabler had repeated again and again, during those periods of time in the ambulance when he had been conscious. He had just said "Olivia I'm so sorry" and "Please God don't let him hurt them" over and over again and Sophia could see a monsoon of tears sliding down his face.

Sophia knew that Elliot had children but none of them had been in the house during the attack, so what could he mean by them.

Jeffrey was supposed to have reported in by now about what he had found and Sophia was getting angry with each passing second that she didn't hear from him. Suddenly she heard her cell phone ring. She answered and in an exasperated voice she yelled so loudly that the other people in the waiting room turned to stare at her "This had better be you Doyle!"

On the other end of the phone, the voice of Jeffrey Doyle came through with a hint of nervous laughter "Yeah, it's me."

"About time," Sophia muttered "What did you find out?"

Jeffrey's tone became serious again "No one saw or heard anything. But Parker…"

"What?" Sophia asked.

"Benson was eight and a half months pregnant with twins."

Sophia grew silent and slumped into a chair for the first time since she had arrived. She looked up and saw Cragen enter the waiting room, followed closely by Munch and Fin. She hung her head as the meaning of Elliot's use of the word "them" became abundantly clear to her.

TBC

Oh God I'm worried. Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 4

Disclaimer: Just incase you aren't paying attention. I only own Sophia and Jeffrey. All the other characters belong to Dick Wolf.

A/N: I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying this story. I love all my reviewers. Please keep letting me know if you like the way that this story is going. Oh and did anyone else notice that Sophia turned into a real take charge girl back there. Good for her.

"She's pregnant?" Cragen fell into a chair in the ER waiting room across from Sophia.

"Doyle says that he saw a nursery when he walked through the crime scene with CSU and a neighbor confirmed that they were expecting twins," Sophia explained.

"Did either of you know?" Cragen asked, turning to Munch and Fin.

Fin stared at his shoes.

"Hey didn't you see them this weekend Fin?" Munch asked.

"Ah… Yeah," Fin admitted.

"Well," Cragen prodded "why didn't you say anything."

"She and Elliot… They said that they wanted to tell all of us when they visited next week," Fin said sheepishly.

"But she's been pregnant for eight and a half months," Cragen said "why wait until just before the babies are born?"

"Um…" Fin trailed off.

"Fin," Munch said in that "You had better tell me what you know or else" tone.

"She was afraid," Fin said.

"Of what?" Sophia finally had the nerve to join the conversation.

"She was afraid that something bad would happen to the babies if she let herself get too excited about it and Elliot respected her wishes and made me promise not to say a thing to you guys," Fin blurted out.

Realization spread across the faces of Cragen and Munch. Sophia sat there feeling confused. Why would someone be so afraid of telling anyone about a pregnancy, especially a wanted pregnancy (which Sophia could only assume that it was since they had prepared a nursery for the babies) to go so far as to keep it a secret until two weeks before giving birth. Then a thought struck her.

"If she didn't want anyone to know, then how did that neighbor know?" Sophia pulled out her phone and dialed Jeffrey's number.

"Doyle," came the answer at the other end.

"Its Parker," Sophia began, jumping right into her reason for calling "What was the name of that neighbor who confirmed Benson's pregnancy?"

"Um…" Doyle uttered as he flipped through his notes "She didn't give me her name."

"No name!" Sophia screamed, causing Cragen and the other two detectives to jump "Do you even know if she is a neighbor?" she asked this question sarcastically but she never expected that she would get the response she did.

"Um… No," Jeffrey answered meekly.

"Well find her Doyle," Sophia spoke sharply "She's a suspect. Find her and bring her in for questioning," she hung up the phone and shoved it into her pocket with such force that the ripping of the stitches was heard by all who sat with in a three chair radius of her.

She was pissed, her first case was a missing pregnant woman, not just any woman but the woman who had (through the letter she had left for her) given her the confidence to work with these people who sat across from her at this moment.

She almost smiled to herself as she thought of the part of the letter that was about "falling in love with your partner" like there would be any chance of her falling in love with that incompetent meek and idiotic excuse for a partner that she had.

A doctor came out to meet them in the waiting room. All four heads turned to face him and Sophia was forced to focus on something else for the moment

At the crime scene Jeffrey was re-walking the scene for the third time with Morales. He held his notepad out and was frantically scribbling the facts down as immaculately as he could.

"Your perp came in through here," Morales was saying, as he pointed to a rear window that had been busted open.

"Pretty brave busting into a cops house in the middle of the day," Jeffrey remarked.

Morales nodded and held up an evidence bag with a bloody shard of glass in it.

"Please tell me that that's the perp's blood." Jeffrey said.

"That's what we're hoping," Morales responded "I'll bring it to the lab myself. Benson and Stabler… well I worked with them for a long time. They're good people. I'll do anything I can to help."

Jeffrey nodded "What's this over here?" he asked indicating a phone that lay on the floor.

"Best guess," Morales began "It's the phone that made the 911 call," he moved over to the wall and indicated a phone jack which had the cord yanked out of it "The perp must have stopped who ever was calling by pulling the cord out."

"Any prints on the phone jack," Jeffrey asked, hoping that there would be.

"Just hers," Morales stated.

"You meen Benson's?" Jeffrey asked.

Morales nodded.

"So," Jeffrey began to piece together the events leading up to Olivia's abduction "Perp breaks in here," he walked over to the window. Then he walked towards the table that the phone had undoubtedly been sitting on "She picks up the phone, dials 911. He shoots her husband, unplugs the phone and somehow she has time to try and plug it back in before he gets her out of the house."

"I don't want to think about how that happened," Morales commented.

Jeffrey nodded his agreement and turned to leave. On his way out he past Judith Siper who was dusting the front hall for finger prints.

"Hey?" Jeffrey asked as he passed her.

"Can I help you detective?" she asked.

"Do you remember that woman I was interviewing in here an hour ago?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, standing up from the floor.

"Do you remember where she went?" he asked.

"No," she answered honestly "but I assume that she went home to get her kids and bring them to the hospital to be with their father."

"Their father?" Jeffrey asked. He was getting annoyed that he had to ask so many questions.

"Yeah," Siper answered "That was Kathy Stabler, Detective Stabler's ex-wife."

TBC

What was Kathy doing there? Is Elliot Okay? Where's Olivia? All will be revealed, eventually.


	5. Chapter 5

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 5

Disclaimer: I only own Sophia and Jeffrey. I have to learn to get used to that but I don't think that I ever will.

A/N: Thank you, Thank you, all of my reviewers. You give me a reason to get up in the morning. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the last ones. Sorry about the long time in updating, I hope the extra time was worth it.

"His ex-wife are you sure?" Sophia asked. She had left Cragen, Munch and Fin at the hospital with Elliot so that Elliot could give his statement. She was currently walking down a sidewalk in Queens beside her partner. She noticed that he seemed to have a bit more confidence than the last time that they had been in close proximity.

"That's what Siper said," Jeffrey informed her "I checked it out and it was her."

"What was she doing there?" Sophia asked.

"I think we're about to find out," Jeffrey said as they approached their destination.

Jeffrey rang the door bell of the house that Elliot Stabler had once lived in with Kathy and their four children.

"You actually think she'd be stupid enough to come back here," Sophia laughed but her laugh was cut short when Kathy opened the door.

"Yes?" she asked when she noticed the two people standing on the other side. She obviously recognized Jeffrey by the way she took a half step back into the house and closed the door slightly.

"Kathy Stabler?" Sophia asked, stepping in front of Jeffrey.

"Yes," Kathy answered, opening the door a little further.

"We're investigating the disappearance of Olivia Benson." Sophia explained "Would you mind coming down to the station and answering some questions?"

"I already told you what I know," Kathy said, slightly closing the door again.

Sophia stuck her foot in the door to keep Kathy from closing it all the way "We need to ask you some more questions."

"Why?" Kathy asked.

"To eliminate you as a suspect," Jeffrey stated from behind Sophia.

Kathy grew wide eyed. She opened the door the rest of the way "Alright. Let me just grab my coat."

In Elliot's hospital room, Munch and Fin were sitting in chairs, watching their friend. Sometimes he stirred slightly in his sleep but he hadn't come out of the anesthesia induced rest yet.

Cragen had left the two detectives to take Elliot's statement as soon as he was awake. Cragen had said that he had a lot of paperwork to do back at the station house. So he had left Munch and Fin and he had left the hospital and he had gone to his car and sat behind the wheel and cried.

He began to drive back to the station house. He couldn't help feeling horrible. Those two, Olivia and Elliot, they were like his children he wished he could protect them. He wished as he turned each corner that he would see Olivia standing on the street, completely unharmed but beyond every corner, there was no sign of her. Around one corner, he came face to face with a church. He decided to go in and prey.

He sat in the empty pew in the empty church and spoke out loud to God "Please let Olivia be alright. Watch over her and her children and bring them home safe."

He said this line over and over again until he was sure that God had heard him. He rose from the pew and left the church. As he approached his car he found himself overcome with a warm feeling and he knew that his words had definitely gotten through.

When he got back to the station house he saw Casey pacing outside the interrogation room.

"What's going on?" he asked her as he approached the two-way mirror.

"Well, hello to you too," Casey said, as she stopped her pacing "Your new detectives are in there with a suspect."

Cragen looked through the two-way and stopped short "That's Kathy Stabler," he said in a low voice. He turned to Casey "You meen Kathy shot Elliot?"

"That's what they're trying to find out," Casey said, indicating the two detectives on the other side of the glass.

In the interrogation room, Jeffrey sat across from Kathy who looked frazzled as Sophia moved around the room. Sophia was the one who was asking most of the questions and Kathy's eyes darted after her every movement.

"Kathy, may I call you Kathy?" Sophia began. Kathy nodded and Sophia continued "How did you know that Olivia was pregnant?"

"I dropped Dickie and Elizabeth off one day about a month ago," Kathy answered indignantly "It's kind of a hard thing to miss."

"Alright then," Sophia said, walking around to the side of the table where Jeffrey sat "That makes sense, but," she came to stand next to Kathy "what were you doing there today?"

"Where?" Kathy asked in an attempt to sound naïve.

Sophia got dangerously close to Kathy's face and spoke in a tone that was frighteningly low and equally frighteningly angry "Listen lady. There is a pregnant woman somewhere out there and you had better tell me absolutely everything you know."

At that moment Sophia felt a hand on her arm and turned to see that Jeffrey had moved from his seat to stand beside her. She looked at his face and his lips mouthed the words "Back down" she obeyed and took a seat in the chair that Jeffrey had been sitting in before.

"So," Jeffrey began "Kathy Stabler? You kept your ex-husband's last name. Why did you do that when you were the one who initiated the divorce proceedings?"

Kathy relaxed and answered "My children still had his last name, I didn't want to feel anymore distant from them than I already did."

"Why did you feel distant from them?" Jeffrey prodded.

"They were all so comfortable with his partner," Kathy said softly.

"You meen Detective Benson?" Jeffrey asked.

Kathy nodded "She's really great with them and they all respect her. Sometimes it seems like they respect her more than they respect me."

Sophia shot up from her chair. She felt that this was the thing that would be Kathy's undoing "So you were jealous?" she asked.

Jeffrey stared Sophia down. Everything in his eyes said "Not now, not now, now is not the time for this" but she didn't pay his gaze any heed.

Kathy turned to Sophia and cringed "Yeah a little," she said in a meek voice.

"So when you found out she was pregnant your jealousy became uncontrollable…"

"No," Kathy objected.

"You wanted to get rid of her because she was going to go off and have her own little family…" Sophia continued, her voice growing louder.

Jeffrey moved to stand next to her and whispered "Parker, not now, don't do this."

Sophia continued "You went to the house today. Didn't you?"

"No," Kathy said, rising from her seat and taking a defensive posture.

"You broke in and surprised them…"

"No,"

"He tried to stop you and you shot him…"

"No never,"

"You saw she was trying to call for help and you pulled the phone out of the wall…"

"No,"

"You didn't just want her out of the way," Sophia said, as her voice grew lower "you wanted her to suffer…"

"No," Kathy said in a much lower voice. Jeffrey noticed that tears were beginning to gather in her eyes.

"Parker," He said, putting a hand on her arm.

"Where is she Kathy?" Sophia asked.

"I don't know!" Kathy retorted.

"Where is she?" Sophia asked again.

"If I knew," Kathy began "I would tell you. I know how much Elliot and my children love her. I wouldn't let any one suffer, no matter how much I was jealous. I had nothing to do with this!"

At that moment Cragen opened the door of the interrogation room and stuck his head in "Parker. Can I speak to you out here for a second?"

Sophia nodded and with one last glare at Kathy, she turned and left the room. Once she was outside and the door was closed, Cragen's face turned angry.

"What was that in there Parker?" he almost screamed in her face.

"She knows more than she's telling us Captain! I know she's holding something back!" Sophia yelled.

"I know she is," Cragen spoke again in a much calmer tone "but that wasn't the way to get it out of her."

"Captain, We've got a missing pregnant woman who could go into labor at any moment and we're just spinning our wheels in the sand," she to was calmer now but her voice still held a bite of ferocity.

"I know that," Cragen's eyes shut tight as he felt himself choking up with emotion "God dam it Parker, don't you think I know that. I want to get her back safe just as much as anyone, maybe more."

Sophia watched as Cragen walked to his desk and pulled a tissue from a box and pressed it hard against his eyes as his body shook more violently than Sophia had ever thought possible. She approached him and put a hand on his shoulder, gently "What should we do?" she asked.

"I don't know," he admitted "let's have Doyle finish the interview and you can observe."

Sophia nodded but turned away as her cell phone rang "Parker," she answered.

Cragen once again joined Casey at the two-way mirror. Kathy was talking to Jeffrey in a normal tone of voice and she seemed to be a bit relaxed.

"Kathy," Jeffrey was saying "it would really be helpful if you would tell us what you were doing there today."

Kathy looked at her hands "I was visiting a friend of mine, she lives in the neighborhood. I heard gun shots and screaming. I recognized the screaming and ran out of my friend's house. I saw a car speeding away."

"Why didn't you tell us this before Kathy?" Jeffrey asked.

"I was afraid of being a suspect," she said softly "but I guess its too late for that, huh?"

"Can your friend vouch for your whereabouts?" Jeffrey asked.

"Yes," Kathy said "her, her boyfriend, and three other people, it was a baby shower." She looked up with tears in her eyes "I'll give you a description of the car. I'll do what ever I can. I don't want to have my fear get in the way of doing the right thing for Olivia and the babies."

Cragen turned away from the window and headed to his desk to call Munch and give him an update when Sophia stopped him.

"That was Munch," she said in a serious tone, referring to the conversation that she had just finished having on her cell phone.

Cragen saw the look on her face and he knew that something was up "What's wrong?" he finally asked.

Sophia's words shocked even her when she repeated them. When Munch had told her, she hadn't even wanted to believe it but saying it made it real "Elliot has slipped into a coma."

TBC

If Kathy didn't do it then who was it? The only people who know for sure are either kidnapped or in a coma.Please review.Do you beleive Kathy?


	6. Chapter 6

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 6

Disclaimer: I only own Sophia and Jeffrey, maybe if I'm really good, I'll get the rest of them in my stocking this Christmas.

A/N: I hope you like this chapter. Spoiler alerts for "Stalked" "Ghost" "Wrath" and a few other minor mentions of perps from other episodes like "Rage" and "Futility"

Sophia sat at the desk, the desk that would never be hers, the desk that would always be Olivia's, and pored through old case files, an enormous pile of them, a file for every perp that Benson and Stabler had ever put away. She looked up just as Jeffrey entered the squad room.

"Hey," he said as he sat down across from her, at the desk that would always be Elliot's.

"Hey," she responded, managing a small smile "find anything?"

"Kathy Stabler's story checked out," he said with a sigh "all five people alibi her."

Sophia let her head drop into her hands "You have got to be kidding me," she groaned.

"I wish I was," Jeffrey said, he glanced at the large pile of files on the desk across from him "What are you doing?"

Sophia gave him a sarcastic smile "Learning about our predecessors," she handed him a stack of the file folders "here," she said with a grin "educate your self." The two of them sat there and looked through the files, in search of potential suspects.

"What about this one?" Jeffrey asked, pushing a file towards Sophia "Humphrey Becker."

Sophia took the file and looked through it "Only if you believe in ghosts Doyle. This guy is dead."

"How about this one?" Sophia asked as she pushed a file towards Jeffrey.

Jeffrey took a look through this new file "Gordon Rickett…" he paused "threatened Stabler's kids but Rickett is dead too."

"Oh well," Sophia said sarcastically and turned back to her stack of files.

"Speaking of ghosts," Jeffrey began as he thumbed through the next file in his stack "Liam Connors also known as la phantasma."

Sophia recognized the name and the case, it had been so highly publicized, the media couldn't stay away from an ADA rising from the ashes to testify against her own killer. She reached over and took the file from Jeffrey "I remember this case, it was all over the papers and the TV."

Jeffrey nodded "I remember, their was the drug connection, a cartel in South America."

Sophia nearly giggled "That's usually were drug cartels are these days," she turned back to the file "Anyway, Connors is dead too."

"It could still be connected to a cartel," Jeffrey suggested.

"No it couldn't," came Fin's voice.

Sophia and Jeffrey turned simultaneously to see Fin standing at the entrance to the squad room. He walked in and took a seat at his desk. Sophia turned to him and although she already knew the answer to the question before she asked it, she asked it anyway "Any change,"

"No," Fin answered in a low tone that told of how much it hurt him to say that one little word "He's just lying there. I left Munch with him. Thought I'd come back here to help on this end of things."

Jeffrey gave Fin a sympathetic nod and handed him a portion of his stack of files. Then he asked "Why couldn't it have been the cartel?"

"Because they wouldn't have left Elliot alive," Fin began "They would have left the both of them, bloody and dead on the floor. They don't leave any possibility for loose ends." He slumped in his seat. Sophia and Jeffrey both understood and didn't ask anymore questions about cartels.

Sophia kept reading through files and out loud explained why they couldn't have been responsible for Olivia's disappearance "Dan Hoffman, in jail, Charlie Baker, dead, Michael Gardner, dead." She paused and looked up at her partner "Wow!" she exclaimed "all their cases are wrapped up neatly. The perps are either dead or in jail."

"Nothing is neat Parker," Jeffrey said, handing her another file "look at this."

Sophia took the file and read it. Eric Plummer was the name on the file and as she read it she realized that even though they had managed to keep Plummer from killing again, the end had been anything but neat "Oh God," she said softly.

Jeffrey nodded "It says that he had an ex-wife but that she committed suicide in jail after being charged with conspiracy to commit murder." He paused "Still is a hell of a thing though," he said softly rubbing his clean shaven chin.

Sophia nodded. She had no idea how she would feel If she was ever forced to shoot someone, even if it was someone who was out to get her by killing other people. It was obvious to Sophia that Olivia had her personal demons.

Fin looked up from the file he was reading and spoke "This one looks like a possibility," he pushed it across the desk towards Sophia.

She took it and began reading "Richard White. It says that he stalked her and when they caught him, he threatened her in open court. He's in jail but he had connections on the outside."

"Maybe we should go talk to him," Jeffrey suggested.

"I'm game," Sophia said, as she rose and began to put on her coat "At this point I'll take any lead."

"Wait a minute," Fin said, as he stood up "I'm coming with you guys."

Forty-five minutes later the three of them stood outside an interview room at Riker's. Inside the room, sitting at a table was Richard White. He sat staring directly ahead, his cuffed hands on the table in front of him. The three detectives were discussing their strategy.

"I wasn't around back then," Fin was saying "but this guy likes to play off the reactions of women. Parker, you should go in first."

Jeffrey looked a bit apprehensive at this suggestion, he had read the file cover to cover and he knew how dangerous this guy was but Sophia just nodded and turned to enter the room. She had her hand on the door handle when Fin spoke to her again "We'll be right out here if you get into trouble."

She half smiled at him "Thanks," she entered the room.

"Hello detective," White greeted.

"Richard White," Sophia began "I've heard some interesting things about you."

"Like what?" White asked, trying to sound innocent.

Sophia tossed a hand full of crime scene photos onto the table "I've heard that your handy work is especially vile."

"Oh detective," White chuckled, Sophia felt an unexplained chill shoot up her spine at the sound of his laughter, "half the people who are incarcerated in this place are known for their vile handy work. There must be some other reason for my good fortune of being graced with your presence. So why are you here really?"

She paused and gathered herself, the chill had gone but in its place was a feeling of extreme apprehension at being in the presence of this man. She remembered that Doyle and Tutuola were just outside and that they had her back. There was nothing at all to be afraid of so she approached the table and spread the crime scene photos out so that White could see them. They were photos of the Fitzgerald rape, the Billings murder and pictures of the crime scene from earlier that day. She knew that it wasn't him who shot Elliot Stabler but she wanted to see his reaction.

White looked at each of the pictures in turn, giving each one as much wrapped attention as the last. Sophia watched his gaze carefully and she could swear that he was remembering the moment as he stared at the picture, not just remembering but remembering fondly. A small smile crossed his face.

"What do you think of them?" he asked, looking up at Sophia.

"I think that they're awful," she admitted.

"Oh come now detective. You brought them here. You wanted me to look at them. There must be something that you see in them, or you wouldn't have come here at all," his smile grew larger "There must be something that your interested in about these pictures."

White moved his cuffed hands over the pictures. Methodically he pushed to the side first the pictures of the Fitzgerald rape/murder, then he pushed aside the photos of the Billings murder, until only the pictures of the Benson/Stabler crime scene remained.

"Now this," he began "I didn't do this but this is why you're here."

"What can you tell me about it?" Sophia asked, pretending that she was unfazed by him.

"I think that Detective Stabler got what he deserved," White stated plainly.

"What do you mean by that?" Sophia asked, trying to maintain her composure.

"He was too protective of that bitch. This is what he gets for all of his trouble," White explained.

"You mean Detective Benson?" Sophia asked. She was trying not to lose it but everything in her was telling her to run. She truly felt as if she was sitting across the table from pure evil.

"She was a bitch, pure and simple," White was saying "she was my ultimate downfall. I would have gotten away but she was just so tempting. I should have known better."

"Known better?" Sophia asked. She wanted to make him admit something but she didn't exactly know what that something was.

"I wanted her," White got a far off and wishful look in his eyes "I wanted to be the one to take her life. I wanted to have her in all senses of the word but I should have known. She set me up."

"She's a cop," Sophia stated "Its her job to catch people like you." She was losing her composure and fighting like hell to get it back.

"People like me?" he asked, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Perps," Sophia began "people who break the law." She took a small, almost unnoticeable step backwards.

"Please don't lump me in with all those others who break the law. I am different."

"How's that?" She asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"What I do is special. I make their last moments truly terrifying. I make art, detective," White licked his lips.

Sophia couldn't keep her anger and fear at bay "You're sick," she whispered, in a shaky voice.

"Ah," White said, noticing her wavering control "I've said something that got to you, haven't I? I am sorry. Let's just get to the reason that you came here. If you could tell me what that is?"

"Detective Benson is missing and we are trying to find her," Sophia answered, she didn't know how much she could keep back from this evil, probing man.

"And you think that I just walked through the front door of this prison, kidnapped her, stashed her someplace and made it back here in time for dinner? Detective you are certainly entertaining." He began laughing again.

Sophia was fighting to keep her hands from shaking, whether from anger or from fear she wasn't sure "You have people on the outside that you still talk to. You could have had them do it. In that case you are an accessory."

White smiled, an evil, toothy grin "You should have done your research better. My mother and I talk probably once or twice a year. We don't exactly have a healthy relationship. I have no way of getting to her, nor do I have the first idea where she is anymore."

Sophia couldn't hold back her anger "Liar!" she screamed "You stalked her. You knew exactly where you could find her!"

White's smile shrank back into the confines of his face "that was almost eight years ago detective. Things change, women grow up, change their hair color, get married and then how can you even think of finding them?"

"I'm sure you'd find a way," Sophia spat at him.

"I'm sure I could too," White said "but I didn't this time." Sophia turned to leave but White's voice made her turn back "You never told me your name."

She looked at him and considered how to respond. Then she remembered something she had heard on the tape of the initial White interview. Something that Olivia had said that had really gotten under White's skin. She spoke evenly "You can just call me Parker, Nosy Parker."

The look on White's face was priceless and with that small feeling of victory Sophia turned and left the interview room.

TBC

If anyone has seen "Stalked" as many times as I have, then you can really appreciate that last comment, I mean aside from an episode of "Ed, Edd and Eddy" I have never heard anyone use the phrase "nosy parker" I never really got it but it got White pissed. Anyway, we are running out of suspects, or are we? Please R&R and tell me who you think did it.


	7. Chapter 7

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 7

Disclaimer: I only own Sophia and Jeffrey. Dick Wolf owns everything else.

A/N: I watched "Stalked" again recently and I hadn't seen it in a while and it got to the final scene where he's confessing and I got really freaked out because the stuff that he said sounded so similar to the stuff I wrote. It was freaky. Anyway, hope that this next chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy.

"You okay Parker?" Jeffrey asked when he saw her come out of the interview room.

"Yeah," Sophia answered shakily before turning and making for the exit.

"I knew it was a bad idea to send her in there alone," Jeffrey told Fin.

"Go easy on her man," Fin began "White is one of the really bad guys. It was tough on her to listen to that stuff. It was tough on me too, you know?"

Jeffrey nodded. Even though he had been outside the room while White had been talking, he too had felt uncomfortable listening to the things that White had said. Jeffrey turned to follow Sophia. As he was leaving he called back over his shoulder "See if you can dig up White's phone records."

Jeffrey found Sophia outside the prison, emptying her stomach contents into a dumpster. He came up behind her and gently gathered her shoulder length hair in his hand and held it back from her face as she heaved. A minute passed and her heaving stopped "You okay?" he asked, putting his other hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine Doyle," she said as she straightened and turned to face him "I could probably use a glass of water though."

Jeffrey laughed and took her hand "I'll buy, C'mon," the two of them walked across the street to a convenience store. Jeffrey bought two bottles of water and the two of them took a seat on a bench just outside the store.

Jeffrey unscrewed the top to his water and took a sip. He turned to his partner "That was a tough interview," he told her "Its okay to feel uneasy afterwards."

"It was so unnerving," she admitted softly.

"No kidding," Jeffrey agreed "I felt sick just listening to him. I can't imagine what it was like to be in there with him."

"He's pure evil," Sophia said, taking a sip of her water.

Jeffrey nodded and took another sip of his water "He's a nasty piece of work."

"He's the kind of thing we'll be dealing with," Sophia said as she screwed the top back on her still three-quarters full water bottle.

"Having second thoughts, partner?" Jeffrey asked.

"No," Sophia sighed as she stood up from the bench "I'm in this for the long hall. Are you?"

"Yes Maam," Jeffrey stood and saluted her.

She gently swatted his hand away and in a weary tone with just a hint of laughter she told him "Please don't ever do that again."

He laughed "I'll promise to never salute you again if you promise to stop calling me Doyle all the time."

She smiled "Alright then. What would you like me to call you? Jeffy, Jeff, or perhaps Scruffykins."

He threw his head back and let out a deep laugh "Where the hell did you come up with 'Scruffykins'?" he asked.

"Just thought of it," she smiled "I think it suits you."

"Well I don't," Jeffrey continued to laugh "Jeff is fine, or Jeffrey but never Jeffy or ugh Scruffykins."

"Okay," Sophia smiled.

"And should I call you Soph or Sophia or Parker or perhaps Soapy."

"Never, ever call me Soapy," she giggled as she swatted at him "Anything else is fine but never Soapy."

"Okay Soapy," Jeffrey began and when he found himself ducking Sophia's water bottle, amended "Okay, okay I mean Sophia. I think we should get back to work. Don't you?"

Sophia nodded and the two of them walked back towards the prison where Fin was standing waiting for them. He had a somber look on his face that neither Sophia or Jeffrey could read.

"Were you able to get the phone records?" Jeffrey asked.

"Yeah," Fin said in an almost sad tone "he hasn't spoken to anyone at all in over ten months."

"That rules out the pregnancy as a motive if White's our guy," Sophia hypothesized aloud.

"Yes but it also rules him out entirely," Fin told her.

"Why's that?" Jeffrey asked.

"It means that he wouldn't have been able to formulate a plan with anyone on the outside," Fin explained.

"He still could have," Sophia protested "Just not one that took the pregnancy into account."

"No," Fin said "It wouldn't have been a working plan because Elliot and Olivia had only been living in that house for the last seven months. Who ever did this knew that house, knew them, knew exactly what they were doing."

"I think we should keep an eye on White's communications for a while," Jeffrey suggested.

"Already done," Fin gave the other two detectives a half smile.

"Well then," Sophia began "let's get to the lab and see where they're at with that car description that Kathy gave them."

"You guys head over to the lab," Fin told them "I'm going to go to the hospital and check up on Munch."

Sophia and Jeffrey both understood that Fin was not just going to the hospital to check on his partner, but to check on Elliot also.

Sophia and Jeffrey entered the double doors to the lab side by side. They quickly found Morales at a computer and began speaking with him.

"Is that the car that Kathy Stabler gave you a description of?" Jeffrey asked, inicating the image on the computer screan.

"Yeah," Morales confirmed.

"What can you tell us about it?" Sophia asked.

"It's the type of car used by official government organizations." Morales began "She gave us a partial license plate too and we were able to determine that the car was from Virginia."

"Virginia?" Sophia asked "Neither Benson or Stabler have any connection to Virginia."

"We called the DMV in Virginia," Morales continued "The partial license matches three cars of that general description, all used by US Marshals."

"The Marshals?" Jeffrey asked, obviously puzzled.

"Were any of the cars reported stolen?" Sophia asked Morales.

"Nope," Morales said in a defeated tone of voice "and they can't tell us who the cars were being used by for 'security' reasons. They said that if you find a name then they'll tell us if that person had access to one of those cars today."

"I hate guessing games," Jeffrey stated.

"I hate it when the stakes are so high," Sophia sighed.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't give you more to go on," Morales said apologetically.

"That's alright," Sophia told him "we'll take it from here. Thank you," and with that she and Jeffrey turned and left the lab.

TBC

I know that my chapters were getting longer for a while and this one is a bit shorter. I promise that I will try not to take so long in updating next time and I hope that the next chapter will be longer. As always, please R&R and tell me what you think.


	8. Chapter 8

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 8

Disclaimer: I have said it before and I'll say it again. I only own Sophia and Jeffrey. Everyone else belongs to Dick Wolf.

A/N; Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Enjoy.

"Marshals?" Cragen asked.

Sophia and Jeffrey were pacing back and forth in the squad room, hypothesizing aloud and Cragen was trying to keep up.

"The car was one used by the Marshals," Sophia stated as she rounded the corner of Munch's empty desk for the third time.

"And no one reported any of the three cars, that match our description, stolen," Jeffrey added.

"So the perp must be a Marshal," Sophia concluded.

"But why?" Jeffrey inquired as he stopped at the door to Cragen's office and turned around to face his partner.

"Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way," Sophia suggested.

"What do you mean?" Cragen asked, he wasn't sure that he liked where this was going.

"Maybe the Marshals are helping her," Sophia offered, as she pushed past the chair of Fin's desk.

"How so?" Jeffrey inquired, sliding onto the corner of Elliot's desk where he remained seated.

"I'm not quite sure," Sophia told him "What do the US Marshals do?" she scratched her head "They handle witness protection."

"That makes no sense," Cragen intervened "The only crime that Olivia saw was someone shooting her husband and even if that someone wasn't a Marshal, that's an awfully fast response, even for the Marshals."

Sophia nodded and walked up to the evidence board. She picked up one of the dry erase markers and proceeded to twist the cap back and forth as she speculated "Marshals also handle prisoner transfers."

"Not applicable," Jeffrey said "Benson wasn't a prisoner."

"No kidding," Sophia muttered. She placed the marker back on the little shelf and turned around "Well I'm running out of ideas here!"

"They also handle escaped convict cases," Jeffrey supplied.

Sophia's cheeks turned bright red. She picked up the marker that she had been playing with earlier from the shelf behind her and hurled it at Jeffrey "That's even less applicable than what I said!" she screamed.

"Maybe its not," Cragen interjected, as he rushed to the file room.

"What are you doing?" Sophia and Jeffrey both asked as they followed him.

"There was a case a while back," Cragen began, not looking at either of them as he sifted through file after file "Marshals came to us after a prisoner escaped in Virginia. Olivia was paired up with one of the Marshals for the case. Elliot informed me after the fact that the two of them used to date. I just can't remember the guy's name." Sophia and Jeffrey shared a 'you're kidding me' look over the top of Cragen's bent head.

Cragen located the file and hurriedly flipped through it "Here it is!" he shouted frantically as he rushed back out to the squad room, where there was more adequate reading light. He dumped the contents of the file on Olivia's desk and began to sift through the papers.

Sophia and Jeffrey exchanged a 'this guy is hell bent on this' look before bending over the papers with him and joining their captain in his search.

"This must be it!" Sophia shouted triumphantly, as she held up a piece of paper in front of her "Deputy US Marshal Andy Eckerson."

"That's him," Cragen said, taking the paper from Sophia "I remember now. He was a total prick."

"We should contact the Marshals," Jeffrey said "We have a name now and maybe they'll tell us if Eckerson had access to one of those cars."

"I hope they can tell us where he went with it too," Cragen said sounding almost excited.

At that moment the phone rang. Cragen answered it "Cragen, special victims unit. What is it Munch… Really… Oh thank God… What… Okay we'll be right there." Cragen hung up the phone and turned to Sophia and Jeffrey "That was Munch. Elliot came out of his coma about fifteen minutes ago."

"Is he going to be alright?" Jeffrey asked.

"It appears that there's no permanent damage," Cragen said, sounding very relieved.

Sophia sensed that there was something else, something that was not such good news "What is it?" she asked in a low voice.

"His first words when he came out of it were 'burn in hell Eckerson'"

The drive to the hospital was brief but the energy in the air was almost tangible. Relief, anger, fear, anticipation and just a hint of confusion combined to fill the sedan with a thick, highly charged atmosphere. Sophia felt the energy pressing on her skin, creeping through and weighing on her heart and soul. What was this Eckerson guy's motive? That was the main question on her mind. Was it revenge of some kind? Was it some sort of torture? Or did this guy just have some delusion of love? Sophia was really hoping that the 'delusion of love' theory was the correct one. It was the scenario that presented the most hopeful outcome for Olivia and the twins. At least that was what Sophia hoped.

The three of them met up with Munch and Fin just outside of Elliot's hospital room. The two small groups filled each other in.

"So the car is one used by the US Marshals," Sophia explained.

"I think we've found our perp," Fin said.

Jeffrey nodded "I'll go contact the Marshals and see what kind of information they can give us," he turned and walked a little ways down the hall befor opening his cell phone and holding it to his ear.

"Have you taken his statement yet?" Sophia asked Munch.

Munch and Fin both looked at their feet "No," Fin finally answered for them both.

"It's too personal," Munch added, still carefully examining his laces.

"I thought I could handle it," Fin admitted "but I just can't keep it together in their. It's them…" he trailed off.

Cragen understood and dismissed the two detectives "Why don't you guys go grab a bite to eat," he suggested. Then he turned to Sophia "Do you think you can handle it?" he asked.

Sophia knew by the way that he asked, that the captain wasn't feeling up to taking Elliot's statement either. She nodded in understanding "Sure I'll do it," she turned back to look down the hallway. She saw Jeffrey still on the phone, he appeared to be arguing with whom ever was on the other end of the conversation. She turned back to Cragen and excepted the pad and pen that he offered her. She walked into Elliot's hospital room. It wasn't necessary for Jeffrey to help take his statement.

She saw Elliot lying in bed. He was pale as the pillow that his head rested on. Whether his paleness was due to his injury or worrying about his wife and unborn children, Sophia wasn't sure.

She took a seat by Elliot's bed and smiled at him "Hello Detective Stabler. My name is Sophia Parker, I'm one of the detectives working on this case," she felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach at how sterile her greeting sounded.

Elliot gave a slight nod to convey his understanding, he recognized the name to be that of the woman who would be sitting at Olivia's desk after they had left.

"I promise we'll find the guy who did this," Sophia told him. She wished that she could promise more, she wished she could promise with one hundred percent certainty that they would bring his wife and children home safe.

Elliot nodded again.

"Detective Stabler," Sophia began, as she uncapped the pen and poised it above the pad of paper "Could you please tell me what happened this morning?"

TBC

Great place to take a break, huh::evil laugh: Review and let me know how it's going. Thank you.


	9. Chapter 9

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 9

Disclaimer: I own only Sophia and Jeffrey. I don't own the others but I wish that I did. Maybe Dick Wolf will trade me Munch for Jeffrey or something. I'll give him both Sophia and Jeffrey for Elliot. C'mon PLEASE? Oh well I can dream.

A/N: I am soooooooooo sorry that it took me so long to update this story. I am having some serious writer's block that I am finding it impossible to work through and this story really deserves careful consideration so I hope that this chapter turns out ok. As always I love to hear from my readers.

Sophia watched the man in the bed and waited for him to begin speaking. Elliot shut his eyes and for the millionth time in the half an hour since he had regained consciousness, prayed that this was just all some terrible, horrifying dream. His eyes opened again and he saw the strange woman sitting by his bedside, holding a pen and notepad. He realized that this was real. He shuttered and winced from the resulting pain, both physical and emotional.

He summand up his strength and spoke "We were arguing," he began.

"About what?" Sophia asked.

"Baby names," Elliot told her, regret evident in his voice. A tear rolled down his cheek but either from physical inability or emotional fatigue, he made no effort to wipe it away or to hide his sorrow from this stranger "It was such a stupid thing," he continued "I wish we hadn't argued," the tears came freely now and in abundance "The last thing I will always remember saying to my wife was 'Christopher is a much better name for a boy than Eric' not 'I love you' or 'I love our children and I don't care what we name them as long as they're healthy' I argued about a stupid triviality."

Sophia felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. She blinked them back fiercely as she asked "Do you remember what happened next?"

Elliot closed his eyes again and strained to remember "We heard a window shatter," he said in a slow voice "Olivia went to investigate. I followed her." He squeezed his eyes tight as he attempted to remember the details "It was Andy."

"Andy Eckerson?" Sophia asked.

"Yes," Elliot responded. "He had a gun. He told her to get on the ground. She did," fresh tears sprang forth from Elliot's clenched eyes "I got in his face, told him to 'get the hell out' he shoved me and I spun around. I saw Olivia dialing 911. She dropped the phone when she noticed that we were both looking at her. That's when he shot me."

Sophia's pen scribbled down the information almost word for word as she continued to blink back the emotions that threatened to erupt out of her "Do you remember anything after that?" she managed to choke out.

Elliot nodded sadly "I was on the ground and my vision was starting to blur but I heard her scream my name. I looked in her direction and I saw," his voice cracked "I saw…" he fell silent. He knew that it was important that he tell Sophia this part but it was incredibly painful. He wished that he didn't remember it but he did and he had to tell her.

Sophia reached out and touched his hand "Please tell me. Its important. If you can remember, please tell me."

Elliot looked at her. He wished that he wasn't confined to that hospital bed. He wanted to be the one who was in charge of this investigation. He decided to tell her "I saw him… on top of her with the gun pressed into her stomach," he choked on his words "that bastard knew exactly how to control her. He pointed at me and he said 'that will be your baby if you don't do what I say'"

Sophia felt the bile rise up in her throat. Her fist involuntarily clenched around the pen that she was holding, almost snapping it "Was there anything else?" she asked, feeling horrible for making Elliot relive these things but needing to know as much of what happened as possible.

"He made her unplug the phone," Elliot told Sophia "and then he forced her out the window that he had broken," Elliot stared at the ceiling "That's all I remember before now."

Sophia capped her pen and stood up "Thank you Detective Stabler," she began. She wanted to say something encouraging or helpful but she could think of nothing.

"Detective?" Elliot said, his gaze ever fixed on the ceiling.

"Yes?" Sophia asked, standing next to his bed.

"When you find her," he began "Tell her I'm sorry and that I love her."

"I will," Sophia promised "but I'm sure that she already knows."

Sophia turned and left the room. Outside of the room she looked around in an effort to locate Jeffrey or Captain Cragen. She spotted Jeffrey a little way down the hall, still on his cell phone. She came up beside him and waited.

"Thank you very much sir," Jeffrey was saying. He hung up his phone and turned towards Sophia.

"Any luck?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah," Jeffrey answered "The Marshals were quite helpful once I explained that a pregnant woman and her unborn twins being kidnapped by a US Marshal would make a very compelling story for the evening news." He gave a sad grin.

Sophia returned the expression "So do they have an address for him?"

Jeffrey nodded "That's not all. They have a GPS track on the car."

"Let's go tell Cragen," Sophia said, turning and walking down the hall in search of the captain.

"Right behind you partner," Jeffrey shouted as he ran to catch up to her.

TBC

Ok this chapter was really on the short side but I promise that the next one will be longer. And to SVU Lover4ever, No I am not trying to give you a heart attack and I wish that I had updated sooner so that I could have my cookie.


	10. Chapter 10

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 10

Disclaimer: See chapters 2-9 because I'm tired of repeating myself about how I only own Sophia and Jeffrey and how Dick Wolf owns everything else.

A/N: I'm glad that people are still reading and still enjoying this story. I keep forgetting to mention that starting in chapter 8 there were major spoilers for "Escape" and the spoilers will continue to flow for that episode. I love reviews so please continue to leave them. They make me so happy.

"That ass," Jeffrey said under his breath. Sophia had just finished filling him in on what Elliot had told her. They were in the sedan on the way to the address that the Marshals had given as Eckerson's residence. Munch and Fin were in another sedan on the trail of the car that Eckerson had been using.

Sophia turned off the main highway and down a side street toward the address that they had been given "I can't believe it," she said in response to Jeffrey's comment, "I will take so much pleasure in kicking this guy's ass."

"Wait a minute," Jeffrey put a hand on her arm "You do know that we're only supposed to arrest this guy, right?"

Sophia kept her eyes on the road "If we don't get Benson back alive, then that man in the hospital will always remember that the last moments he spent with someone he loved were arguing."

"Why is this so important to you?" Jeffrey asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Sophia yelled "A pregnant woman is out there, fearing for the lives of her babies and you don't know why this is so important. Screw you!" the car made a sharp swerve to the left as Sophia narrowly avoided another car.

"That's not what I meant," Jeffrey began "You're talking about kicking this guy's ass, this is personal for you. Why?"

Sophia gave him a sideways look that said 'ask me again and I'll kick your ass' Jeffrey decided to drop it and the rest of the drive, all three minutes twenty-two seconds, was silent.

They pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car. With guns drawn they approached the front door. Sophia banged on the door.

"Andy Eckerson!" she yelled "NYPD! Open up!" When a minute passed without any noise from the inside she stepped back from the door and turned to Jeffrey "Break it down," she commanded.

Jeffrey did as he was told and they entered the house. Sophia turned to Jeffrey and motioned toward the stairs "I'll take the upstairs. You take downstairs," Jeffrey nodded and they both went their separate ways.

Sophia crept up the stairs. She kept quiet as she approached the top. When she reached the landing, she peered cautiously in either direction. When she was confident that no immediate harm would befall her, she stepped into the hallway.

Quietly and with her gun drawn, she approached one of the closed doors. Slowly she pushed it open. The room appeared to be a bathroom and it was empty. Sophia stepped inside and looked around just to make sure. Finding no one, she returned to the hall. She approached the other closed door and pushed it open. This room appeared to be a small bedroom with one bed and a desk in the corner. Sophia cautiously navigated the room, searching for any sign of habitation. She was startled by Jeffrey calling from downstairs.

"Soph!" he called as he sprinted up the stairs.

Irritated, she turned towards the door to see him standing there with a solemn expression on his face "What?" she snapped.

"There's no sign of anyone on the first floor or in the basement," Jeffrey reported. He rubbed his hand hard on the back of his neck "Have you had any luck up here?" he inquired.

"No," she told him, looking down at the floor, her eyes not willing to look up and admit defeat. Suddenly she saw something small and white lying on the floor under the bed. Sophia got down on her hands and knees and picked up the object, which turned out to be a folded piece of paper.

"What is that?" Jeffrey asked, stepping closer to Sophia, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on the folded piece of paper in her hands.

"I don't know," Sophia told him as she began to unfold the paper. As she did, a small object toppled out of the note and clattered to the floor making a small metallic clink as it landed.

Jeffrey bent down and retrieved the object, cradling it gently in his hands. He examined it for a moment and then exclaimed "Its… its Benson's badge!"

Sophia stared at the note in her hand and read aloud "To Whoever finds this, I am so sorry. I am so afraid for my babies. I am so sorry Elliot. I didn't mean for this to happen. He says that its all my fault. He says he's taking me somewhere else because they'll come here. I hope that they is someone from SVU. He said something about a cabin in Vermont. The kicking is frequent and I am afraid that I'll go into labor soon. I hope my badge proves that this is me. If Elliot is still alive," Sophia choked on these words. A tear slipped down her cheek, she hastily wiped it away and continued reading "Tell him…" she choked on the words again as she struggled to get them out "Tell him that I love him and that I'm sorry," Sophia quickly turned away from Jeffrey to hide the emotion that erupted.

Jeffrey put a hand on her shoulder, she turned to glance in his direction and saw that he too was loosing the fight against tears. He finally spoke, his voice stumbling over the words with great difficulty "I hope by frequent kicking…" he paused and pressed a hand hard against his eyes "I hope she's referring to the babies."

Sophia could see that he was fighting the urge to collapse. She stepped closer too him, removing his hand from her shoulder and taking the badge from his hands "We should get back," she said simply.

The two of them walked down the stairs with Sophia in the lead. Together, the partners went over the first floor of the house again. This time, the search was more specific, instead of searching for a person, they were searching for clues to where that person might be now.

Sophia's cell phone rang. She answered it "Parker."

It was Munch. After a brief conversation, Sophia hung up the phone and turned to Jeffrey "That was Munch," she informed him.

"Did they find the car?" Jeffrey asked as he stood up from the floor and dusting his hands on his pants.

"Yeah," Sophia said in a low tone. She looked down at the buttons of her sweater.

"And?" Jeffrey asked, sensing that there was something more. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what they found. He leaned against the table that only seconds before he had been looking under, for support.

"It was empty," Sophia informed him "and it was in the middle of no where."

"We expected that he would have ditched it," Jeffrey said but still he knew that there was still something she wasn't telling him.

"And," Sophia began.

"Yes?" Jeffrey asked.

"They found blood," Sophia sputtered.

"Who's?" Jeffrey asked standing up from the table and taking a step towards his visibly shaken partner.

"They don't know yet," Sophia answered him in a voice full of pain.

TBC

Please review. Tell me what you think.


	11. Chapter 11

The New Kids in the Squad Room

Part 11

Disclaimer: Not mine. Well except for Sophia and Jeffrey of course ;)

A/N: It been a while but here it is. Hope you enjoy. If you like it please review

Back at the station house Cragen was once again on the phone with the US Marshals.

"Yes I said Vermont!" Cragen repeated for what seemed like the millionth time "I need to know if Andy Eckerson owns any land in Vermont!"

"I'm sorry but I can't find anything in Vermont," the woman on the other end answered.

'So much for complete and total cooperation' Cragen thought "Listen to me very carefully," Cragen began, being sure to annunciate every syllable very slowly "I… need… to… know… if… An-dy Eck-er-son… owns… any… pro-per-ty… in… Ver-mont. Can… you… check… again?"

"Are you that NYPD Captain from New York?" the woman asked.

'Oh what kind of genius did they stick me with' Cragen wondered. He was unaware of the US Marshals instigating a high school intern program "Yes," Cragen responded.

"I'm not supposed to be giving out that information to you," the ditz informed him.

"Says who?" Cragen asked. He was hoping that this air head would be dumb enough to spill the beans.

"Oh please," the far too annoying to be human individual responded, her voice full of sarcasm "What kind of idiot do you take me for?"

'Do you really want me to answer that?' Cragen mused as he bit back a small but very un-captain-like giggle.

Far away from the frustrations of this particular phone call, four detectives sat at a booth in a small diner in southern Vermont. They had decided to set up "base camp" as it were there because it would be undoubtedly closer to where ever Eckerson was keeping Olivia than the station house would be.

Sophia returned to the table after a brief trip to the ladies room and ordered what seemed like her twentieth cup of coffee. She took in the expressions on the men around her and for a moment she wondered how Olivia handled being the only female detective on the team.

"What are you looking at?" she asked a snickering Munch.

Munch simply pointed to Sophia's right foot. Sophia looked down to see a piece of toilet paper about eighteen inches long trailing from her shoe. 'Oh Dam' she thought as she kicked the piece of paper off and under the table.

The waitress returned with a large pot of coffee and refreshed the cups of all the detectives. Sophia smiled and thanked her as she left.

Fin and Jeffrey had began a battle for the last packet of Equal.

"Give it here," Jeffrey wined.

"No way man," Fin protested "I've got seniority. Remember?"

"Not when it comes to artificial sweeteners," Jeffrey protested reaching across the table and attempting to snatch the packet away from Fin.

The Equal packet broke and the contents ended up in Fin's coffee. Munch and Sophia laughed.

"Victory!" Fin exclaimed with a triumphant grin on his face.

"Lucky," Jeffrey grumbled as he reached for a Sweet'n'low packet of which there were plenty.

Sophia also reached for a Sweet'n'low packet and smiled at her partner "Don't be a sore loser," she broke into a small fit of giggles before she added "You know? It wasn't really a fair fight, both sides weren't Equal."

Everyone groaned at her attempt at a joke.

Munch eyed the Sweet'n'low packets carefully before selecting a regular sugar packet "You know artificial sweeteners are all just a front," he began.

Fin rolled his eyes "Here we go."

"The tiny crystals," Munch continued seemingly unaware of his partner's comment "Actually contain tiny robots. If the Government ever needs emergency soldiers, all they do is…"

"Oh enough already!" Fin surprised even himself with the volume of his voice.

Munch fell silent but shot his partner a very angry look.

Sophia quickly changed the subject "So does the Captain know where we are?"

Munch nodded somberly. The mention of the Captain had brought his mind back to the case and the case worried him deeply. He tried not to let it show though "We're supposed to wait here until he calls and tells us where to go next."

"Its been a long time," Jeffrey mused aloud "You'd think that he would have found the information by now?"

"What do you mean?" Fin asked suspiciously. Fin did not like Jeffrey's tone at all.

"I mean," Jeffrey began "Maybe she doesn't want to be found."

"You idiot!" Fin shouted, attempting to jump up and reach across the table to strangle Jeffrey.

Munch quickly pulled his partner back down "Take it easy Fin. We're all on the same side here."

"No we're not!" Fin fumed "One of us is a dirty liar."

Munch nodded in understanding. It seemed that Jeffrey wasn't all that smart.

Sophia just stared at her partner with growing contempt "Of course she wants to be found stupid," she growled "Its him that doesn't want anyone to find her."

Realization dawned on Jeffrey and he attempted to hide his face.

Sophia decided to try changing the subject again. It was 2:00am and she didn't feel like getting into a heated argument with anyone.

"So Jeffrey," she began "Whose watching your kids while we sit up here in this twenty four hour diner?"

"They're staying with my baby sitter and her mom until I get back," he answered confused at the sudden change in topic "She'll drop them off at school tomorrow."

Suddenly Munch slid out of his side of the booth and began pacing the length of the near empty restaurant.

"What's up John?" Sophia asked but not before taking the opportunity to sneak a packet of Sweet'N'Low into his coffee.

"It shouldn't take this long," Munch muttered "Eckerson must have help on the inside."

"A bad egg in the Marshals?" Jeffrey asked.

Sophia rolled her eyes when she heard her partner use the term 'bad egg' but nodded just the same "Its possible," she commented "Or the property he owns in Vermont is just under a different name."

Something clicked in Munch's brain "Or he rents from someone," he snapped his fingers "No deed, no paper trail."

"There would be a paper trail," Jeffrey jumped in eager to redeem himself "Invoices to whom ever he rented from."

Simultaneously all four detectives pulled out their phones. After a very brief argument it was decided that Sophia would make the call to Cragen, after a remark about women's writes to equal representation in the work place. Sophia quickly dialed Cragen's office.

In his office, Captain Cragen had given up on the frustrations of dealing with the annoying woman when he heard his phone ring.

"Cragen," he answered sounding exhausted.

"Captain," came Sophia's voice through the receiver. Cragen could tell that she was excited about something.

"What is it Parker?" he asked in an urgent tone. Something about the excitement in her voice had given him hope.

"Do we have Eckerson's finacials?" she asked him.

"Yeah, why?" he responded sounding a bit confused.

He heard hushed conversation in the background then Sophia's voice returned with a question "Could you fax them to this number?" she gave Cragen a number that he didn't recognize.

"Sure," he said, still mystified "but why?"

"A hunch," she answered. Although Sophia thought that it was a pretty good chance, she didn't want the Captain to stop trying to get the information from the Marshals.

Thanking the Captain, Sophia quickly hung up the phone and followed the waitress to the night managers office where she waited for the fax.

When the paperwork came through she glanced through it quickly and then rushed back out to the others.

"I think this is what we're looking for!" she said excitedly waving a section of the papers in the air.

"Calm down girl," Fin said taking the papers from her to see what she was so excited about.

Munch peered over his partner's shoulder "Checks made out to both a Mrs. Allen and a Mrs. Pittman. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is," Sophia began, slightly out of breath from jumping in the air when she had first discovered this information "That both these checks were made out just this afternoon and both women own property here in Vermont."

"That isn't much help," Jeffrey said, getting up from his seat to join the others.

"It narrows it down," Sophia told him "Both these places are around here."

TBC

Hahaha I know its been a while but I just wanted to make sure ya'll are still paying attention. Review please.


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